Anthropic backs open weights, but wants chip curbs and mandatory testing for powerful models

tetsuoai · x · 2026-07-28

The post quotes Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei responding to Jensen Huang’s open-weights letter.

Anthropic says it has never supported a ban on open-weights models.
It does support tougher controls on selling powerful chips to China, cracking down on smuggling, and stopping industrial-scale distillation.
It also backs mandatory safety testing for all capable models, whether open or closed.
On open weights, Amodei agrees they can widen access, improve competition, and give customers more control.
But he argues they do not automatically help defenders more than attackers, and says his biggest concern is biology: sufficiently capable models may be able to rapidly weaponize pandemic-level viruses.
He also rejects a blanket ban on open weights as a policy solution.

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